Catmobile coming to Melrose

ZARA TZANEV/2008 FOR THE GLOBE
Two cats wait for their owners to pick them up in the Merrimack River
Feline Rescue Society Catmobile.

By Travis Andersen
Town Correspondent

Catch the Catmobile if you can - and if you have a cat that needs fixing, you really should.

The Cat Mobile, a traveling neuter and spay service for felines, is stopping in Melrose on Wednesday. It'll park at the Towers Plaza on 880 Main St. from 8 a.m. until about 4 p.m.

Veterinarians will offer neutering and spaying - among other services - for $75, a bargain rate, according to Diane Kurkjian, canine control officer in Melrose.

"[It's] a fantastic deal," Kurkjian said in an e-mail. "To have all these services provided at a vet’s office would cost at least $275."

The Cat Mobile travels around the state and is operated by the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, an advocacy group. It has made four stops in Melrose this year, which has proved a boon to the community, according to Kurkjian.

"I feel that the Catmobile and other low-cost spay-neuter clinics make a huge impact on the health of the local pet population," she said. "Many people get pets without realizing the cost of basic preventative care. Unfortunately with cats especially, some people think of them as a low-maintenance pet and tend to forgo that care."

Kurkjian added that she picks up three or four abandoned pets each year, most of them not neutered. The free-roaming cats in this bunch often fight with one another and bite children. Getting your kitty neutered or spayed addresses the root cause of the problem - overpopulation.

"There isn’t as much of a pet overpopulation problem with dogs [except pitbulls] in Massachusetts," Kurkjian said. "But there is still a big overpopulation problem with cats."

Feline owners can help curb this trend on Wednesday, by visiting the Catmobile. To reserve a spot, call 888-495-SPAY (7729). The Catmobile sees up to 40 pets per day, and the Rescue Society takes reservations until all slots are filled.